Billy West
|birthplace = Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |family = Violet West (spouse) |nationality = American |occupation = Voice Actor Singer Musician Songwriter |areas_active = Los Angeles New York |active = 1988-present |status = Active |website = Billy West }}William Richard Werstine (born April 16, 1952), known professionally as Billy West, is an American voice actor, singer, musician and songwriter. He is known for his voice-work in commercials, films, television series, and video games. His roles include the titular characters on The Ren & Stimpy Show, Douglas Yancey "Doug" Funnie from Doug, and Philip J. Fry, Professor Farnsworth, Dr. Zoidberg, Zapp Brannigan, and others on Futurama. In commercials, he is the current voice of the Red M&M and voiced Buzz from Honey Nut Cheerios until 2004. He has voiced Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Popeye, Shaggy Rogers and Woody Woodpecker in subsequent animation and was also a cast member on The Howard Stern Show, noted for his impressions of Larry Fine, Marge Schott, and George Takei. Career West was born in Detroit, Michigan. His family was of Irish descent. West launched his career in the early 1980s, performing daily comedic routines at WBCN in Boston, on the air on The Big Mattress show. He then left the radio station in 1988 and moved to New York City, working at K-Rock Radio (92.3 FM WXRK) and on the short-lived revival of Beany and Cecil, which was his first role in television. West became a regular cast member and impressionist on The Howard Stern Show during the 1990s, until leaving in 1995. He gained notice for his impersonations of Three Stooges middleman Larry Fine, Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott and Stern's head writer Jackie Martling. West's first major roles were on Doug and The Ren & Stimpy Show, which were two of the first three Nicktoons on Nickelodeon (the other being Rugrats). Over his career, West has been the voice talent for close to 120 different characters including some of the most iconic animated figures in television history. He has become one of the few voice actors who can impersonate Mel Blanc in his prime, including characterizations of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, the voice Arthur Q. Bryan used for Elmer Fudd, as well as other characters from Warner Bros. cartoons. In 1998, Entertainment Weekly described West as "the new Mel Blanc" and noted his ability to mimic well-known voices, though he would rather develop original voices. West voices numerous characters in Futurama, namely Philip J. Fry, Professor Farnsworth, Zapp Brannigan and Dr. Zoidberg. As he and other Futurama cast and crew point out in DVD commentaries, West voiced so many characters throughout the series that conversations are often held entirely between characters he is voicing. West's favorite characters are Philip J. Fry and Stimpy, both of which he originated. West's most notable film work was in Space Jam, providing the voice of both Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. He has provided the same voices for other Looney Tunes films and video games. West has been very outspoken over his displeasure about the influx of movie star actors providing voice-over for films and major shows. West is also the voice of "Red" in numerous M&M commercials as well as the 3-D movie I Lost my M in Vegas. He also voices a number of minor characters in the series Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World. He voiced the character Moobeard in Moobeard the Cow Pirate, a short animation featured on Random! Cartoons and reprises his role as Elmer Fudd in Cartoon Network's series The Looney Tunes Show. In 1999, he also had a cameo in the Emmy Award-winning cartoon Dilbert. Filmography Animation Dubbing Animated Series *''Rayman: The Animated Series'' (1999) - Rayman, Inspector Grub, Additional Voices *''Totally Spies!'' (2001-2013) - Lester Crawley (ep. 5), Henchman (ep. 5), Scientist (ep. 5), Professor Roberts (ep. 45), Willard (ep. 45) Anime Dubbing Anime Films *''My Neighbors the Yamadas'' (1999) - Additional Voices Trivia *Is good friends with fellow voice actor Richard Steven Horvitz. External Links *Billy West at the Internet Movie Database *Billy West at Anime News Network's encyclopedia Category:Voice Actors Category:American Voice Actors Category:Los Angeles-Based Voice Actors Category:New York-Based Voice Actors Category:Voice Actors for Studiopolis Category:Voice Actors for Disney